News

07.07.2014 | EuroVelo Greenways and Cycling tourism Conference

The DEMARRAGE project presents its achievements.

Focusing on the closing of the successful Demarrage – EuroVelo 15 – Rhine Route Project, the EuroVelo Greenways and Cycling tourism Conference will include sessions explaining how cycling tourism fits into the current political and economic agenda, ideas for new products for cycle tourists as well as presenting the transferrable outputs from the Demarrage project itself.

Located at the meeting point of Switzerland, France and Germany, Basel is the perfect spot to mark the end of the successful Demarrage Project – a four-year investment in cross-border cycle tourism centred on the River Rhine. The Demarrage project has been co-financed by Northwest Europe INTERREG IV B.

This event will be followed by a weekend of cycling in and around the Basel region. On Saturday, 20th September, the European Cyclists’ Federation will lead the inaugural ‘European Long Distance Cycle Route Certification Standard’ certification tour. Up to 50 participants will cycle a day’s section of EuroVelo 15 – Rhine Route through France, Germany and Switzerland, in order to test the route certification methodology developed during the course of the Demarrage project.

By passing on this methodology to its partners, the ECF hopes to accelerate the process of certifying more route sections of the EuroVelo network. EuroVelo 15 – The Rhine route was the first route to be awarded this standard in 2012. The certification of a route section will be renewed every 5 years to ensure enduring high quality cycle routes.

Finally, conference participants are encouraged to stay on in Basel for the regional ‘slowUp’ event on Sunday 21st September. This events bring together cycling on traffic-free public roads and a packed program of activities for the day.